finalToon is the first line renderer for 3ds Max to offer full support for Render Elements. As soon as finalToon is installed on 3ds Max, new Render Elements are available to choose from. Clicking on the Add button under the Render Elements dialog will bring up the following dialog:
Selection window with finalToon Lines selected
The new Render Elements type is called finalToon Lines and it works like all other Render Elements options. Once you click OK, it will be added to the Render Elements rollout as shown below.
3ds Max Render Elements dialog with finalToon Lines Element enabled
It will also add a second rollout with options on which line styles to add to the rendering pass. This is an interesting feature of the finalToon Lines option since you can select any of the available line types to be drawn in one Render Element pass. You can have them all sent out together (complete with their transparency), or you can add multiple entries so that each Line Style goes into it's own rendered pass.
finalToon Render Elements rollout
Whenever you select a finalToon render element, a rollout menu appears beneath the Render Elements dialog. A list of line types is presented that you can select from. Each activated line type will be rendered in that specific Render Elements pass.
In the following section we present an example of finalToon's Render Elements capabilities where we rendered out 6 different finalToon Line Style passes and then assembled them later. Remember this feature works exactly like the standard 3ds Max Render Elements feature. Should you need more information on this feature, please consult the 3ds Max documentation.
Rendered finalToon Render Elements
Once all of the passes are rendered, you can take the elements and assemble them within a paint package like Adobe Photoshop or a compositing product like combustion or Adobe After Effects. The great thing is that you get full control over each single line style without ever having to re-render the entire scene.
The Passes:
Visible Folds Render Element Hidden Folds Render Element
Visible Creases Render Element Hidden Creases Render Element
Visible Intersection Render Element Hidden Intersection Render Element
The final Result